Shattered Souls
by riverofmemories
Summary: Team Natsu is a mess. And that's putting it lightly. {Last in the Shattered Series}
1. Damaged Healer

**. Damaged Healer .**

* * *

 _ ***Warning:** Shattered Souls is a spinoff of my NaLu fanfiction, Shattered Dreams. If you were consider reading SD, I would highly recommend you read it first, as SS will be spoiling the entire plot of SD. Thank you! :)_

* * *

She was to blame.

How was she not? She should have been able to heal the woman before her, even if Porlyusica had quietly stated that there was nothing more that she could do. There were some things that magic couldn't fix, and this was one of them.

She should have been able to fix it.

Wendy sighed softly, her eyes latched on Lucy's peaceful expression as she watched over her. Every now and then, the celestial mage's breathing would hitch, or her face would twist into an expression of pain, but then it would go back to normal, as if she was merely sleeping.

The sky dragon slayer wanted to scream to the skies her mother had ruled. Why couldn't she heal her mind, too? Porlyusica had told her that while physical wounds could be and were easy to heal, the mind was a completely different matter. It was dangerous for even the most experienced mages to use their magic to delve into another's mind. One wrong move, and you could destroy the one you were trying to save.

So, they'd been told to do nothing but wait. Lucy would either realize she was dreaming and wake herself up or die. Wendy remembered the looks on her friend's faces when they'd been told that.

Erza had looked stricken.

Gray had looked beyond guilty.

Natsu…

It hurt Wendy's heart to think of the pure loss and desperation that had appeared on her fellow dragon slayer's expression. It hurt even more that it had stayed.

Charle had felt bad, too. She'd admitted when they'd gone home that first night after bringing Lucy to the guildhall that she'd had a vision the night before it had all happened, but she hadn't said anything, afraid to mention anything of the sorts to Erza and Natsu. Erza would have been furious.

Natsu would have tried everything in his power to tie the blonde up in a closet so she couldn't get herself into such trouble.

Wendy frowned to herself, patting Lucy's hand thoughtfully before climbing to her feet, wandering over to peer out the window of the room. Similar to the now missing Levy, she'd searched everything she could for a solution, for a way to help her friend. But she'd come up with nothing, and while everyone had told her it wasn't her fault, that it was only natural that she eventually come across something she couldn't heal…

How was this not her fault?

If she'd just healed Gray a little better, he wouldn't have said such rude words to Lucy. Lucy wouldn't have run off.

She wouldn't be near death, her heart just waiting to give out on her.

As if sensing the dragon slayer's line of thoughts, Wendy's sensitive ears picked up the lack of heartbeat in an instant, and she whirled around, diving for Lucy's side with wide eyes. Normally, she would have called for Natsu, but the other mage was downstairs, eating for the first time in a few days, and she didn't want to scare him into not eating for a while. So she waited, holding her breath.

When the blonde's heart suddenly began thumping in a reassuring rhythm, Wendy heaved a huge sigh of relief, hugging herself.

She was still only a girl.

Most girls her age would have no regrets.

Wendy found herself full of them...and fear, too. Fear that Lucy wouldn't wake up.

Seeing Lucy in this way...it hurt her so badly, it felt as if someone had beat her soul to hell and back. She wanted the celestial mage, who had always cared for her, who had been the one to officially invite them to be a member of Team Natsu, to be alright. And while Charle had scolded Wendy for beating herself up over it, she knew the white cat was just as worried.

Tears built in Wendy's eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more," she whispered, thinking of the nasty wound she'd tried to heal. The wound that had been carved into Lucy's back. "I'm sorry, Lucy. Please be okay."

Lucy didn't respond.

She never did anymore.

And Wendy was seriously afraid.

Seriously afraid that because she hadn't been able to heal what damage the demon had done, Lucy's life would cease to exist.

* * *

 _Yay! Shattered Souls is finally ready for you all to read! :D This was originally going to be massive one-shots about what each of Team Natsu did during the time Lucy was unconscious, but...change of plans. My goal was to get the main emotions each of them felt through. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all on Friday!_


	2. Fractured Armor

**. Fractured Armor .  
**

* * *

Dark eyes watched her quiet nakama as she sat alone at a table, a plate of untouched strawberry cake in front of her. She'd abandoned her armor long ago and sat there, dressed in nothing but her white top and skirt, her scarlet colored hair falling into her eyes as she lightly kicked her feet, listening impatiently for the sound of excited scrambling, cheers, and cries of relief as their nakama woke up.

It didn't come.

Erza pressed her lips together, forcing herself to pick up her fork and take a bite of cake, barely tasting it as she chewed mechanically. She had to act normal, the requip mage told herself. There was nothing she could do at the moment. Jellal had told her as much when he'd dropped by not too long ago, explaining what he could. There was nothing she or anyone else could do. Only Lucy could be the one to fix it.

So, she ate her cake, drank her drink, and sat there in quiet misery.

She knew that an equally upset Wendy and a horribly guilty Gray sat nearby, but she couldn't bring herself to comfort either of them when she couldn't even comfort herself. Natsu was upstairs, the worst out of all of them, Happy quietly sitting beside him on Lucy's bed as the blonde dreamt away, clueless to what was really happening.

Erza was terrified. Absolutely and completely terrified.

But who wouldn't be?

Lucy was practically a sister to her. And Erza rarely let anyone get that close to her. Sure, she truly did love each and every member of Fairy Tail - particularly Makarov and her teammates, but she wasn't nearly as close to anyone else as she was to Lucy. Lucy was the one who smiled when the rest of them couldn't, the one who kept them on their feet when the situation required it. Lucy was the one who'd managed to break through to her guarded heart, the one who'd slipped in and hugged it tight, never letting go.

And Lucy had managed to break through again, but this time, not in a good way. She'd fractured the armor Erza had set up, threatening to tear her entire being down. Erza couldn't even begin to explain the pain and grief that filled her every time she thought of the unconscious celestial mage, and she found herself unable to do anything but wait. She knew it would be necessary to go out eventually, make money so that they could pay Lucy's rent along with their own, but…

For now, all Erza could do was grieve and hope with all of her might that Lucy broke through this murderous curse and return to them.

Because she really didn't think she could handle losing anyone again.

* * *

 _Sorry for the wait, my lovelies! I didn't mean to be a day late, I forgot my brother had some black belt testing to do for Tae Kwon Do. He was upped a rank, so congrats to him. Anyhow! Now that this is finally out...It's Erza's! :D I hope you enjoyed and thanks to reviewers (SafireRansomePoseidonsDaughter and KaUiA) as well as those who favorited and followed! See you on Monday!_


	3. Splintered Ice

**. Splintered Ice .**

* * *

Tears burned at the back of his eyes as he made his way down the path. His chest ached as if someone had torn his heart from his chest - and he silently wished someone had. Heaven knows how many times he'd considered ripping out his own tongue for what he'd done.

 _"Yeah, well, at least she would have been of use in the fight and wouldn't have just stood there like a useless whining bitch!"_

Gray Fullbuster had never regretted any words as much as he regretted those.

They'd been told recently that Lucy might never wake up and Natsu had blown up, serious in his attempt to incinerate the ice-make mage. If he was being perfectly honest, he would have let Natsu kill him. The ice he'd built up around his heart to try and avoid feeling as guilty as he did now had splintered, and he'd _wanted_ the fire mage to kill him. But Erza had put a stop to it, and the sounds of Juvia's terrified screams still rang in his ears.

Juvia...she was the one who, as of recently, made sure he ate and did what was necessary to get through each and every single day. Her screams, her terror for him, had been what made him fight back when Natsu had attacked. _Juvia_ was the reason he still went to the guildhall instead of wasting away in his home.

Because no matter _what_ everyone said aloud, he knew it was the truth. It _was_ his fault Lucy was the way she was. He was the reason she'd gone out and gotten herself attacked by demons. And while only Natsu said it aloud, he _knew_ the rest of them thought it.

He thought it, too.

Natsu wouldn't let him in to see the celestial mage when he tried, and he wasn't ignorant to the angry looks everyone gave him whenever he stepped inside.

He deserved those. He deserved everything they threw at him, and he would take it gladly. Hell, he'd have used the Iced Shell on Deliora if it would wake Lucy up.

"They should have left me to bleed out," he muttered angrily to himself, clenching his hands into fists.

He was supposed to be the brother Lucy had never had, and he'd practically killed her.

Suddenly, he couldn't help it.

Gray Fullbuster fell to his knees in the middle of the path he'd been following all day and cried. It had been years since he'd last cried like this, but he cried over the guilt that weighed him down, over what he'd done.

He was still on his knees, face buried in his hands when Juvia came jogging up the path in search of him. The water mage's heart twisted with pain at the sight of her beloved, and she gently touched his shoulder when she reached him, tears rolling down her own cheeks.

Gray Fullbuster had never regretted any words as much as he regretted those.

* * *

 _Ahhhhhh! I cried while writing for poor Gray. Love him to death. Friday is Natsu, as many are wondering about! :D And then back to Wendy again. ^_^ Thanks to reviewer (SafireRansomePoseidonsDaughter) and those that favorited and followed!_


	4. Broken Flame

**. Broken Flame .**

* * *

She was his flame.

She was his happiness.

She was his damn _life_.

Yet here she was, unconscious in a bed and quite possibly never going to wake up.

Natsu's fingers tightened around Lucy's, his onyx eyes never leaving her face as he folded his other arm on the bed and rested his chin on it. Her blonde hair was strewn around her face, matted and not exactly the cleanest it could be after close to two months of lying in a bed. But to him, it was still shining and as golden as the sun. He could picture her brown eyes sparkling with life and excitement, even after all of this time.

The dragon slayer swallowed the lump in his throat as he hesitantly brought their twined fingers closer to him. He pressed his lips to the tips of her fingers, and even as he did, she made a sound and turned her head in her uneasy sleep. He froze, hopeful.

But her eyes didn't open.

In fact, her heart stopped. The blaring sound, so familiar now, filled his ears, and he lunged forward, his fingers seeking her cheeks as he whimpered, "Damn it, woman!"

A few moments later, she wheezed out a soft moan before falling back into that unconsciousness she had been in for a while. The blaring cut off, returning to the soft beeping following the thudding of his partner's heart.

He mumbled a soft huff of relief, dropping back down into his chair with his head in his hands.

"Natsu?"

The familiar voice had him glancing back. "Happy," he rasped as the blue cat padded over to join him. He climbed onto Lucy's bed with ease, sitting on the edge with his tail hanging off, twitching every now and then. "What ya need, little buddy?"

"Nothing." The Exceed had long since stopped being as excited and cheerful. His name was almost the complete opposite of what he was now. "I wanted to see Lucy. Is she okay?"

"So far," he mumbled with a sigh, returning to his original position with his chin on his arm. Happy scooted closer so he could lean on his friend, offering what comfort he could and receiving it at the same time.

Suddenly, Happy frowned. "Natsu, you're cold."

Natsu shrugged, as if he knew exactly what the small cat was talking about. "Lucy's not awake," was all he said. He knew that he'd lost the fire in his belly the second he'd learned she was in serious trouble. And if he lost her permanently...he was sure it'd never come back.

Because what point was there to life without Lucy Heartfilia? She was everything to them.

He missed her. He missed her with all of his being. He missed her screaming at him for sneaking into her bed, and he missed going to sleep with her unknowingly curled up against him. He missed going on jobs with her. He missed her scolding him for eating too much. He missed her running her gentle fingers through his hair when he felt sick on the train. He missed her laughter when he managed to amuse her.

He missed _Lucy_.

It was like someone had broken a piece of his soul off and burned it to a crisp in front of him.

"Do you think...do you think she'll wake up?" Happy sniffed, voice cracking. Natsu glanced at him, alarmed when he saw the tears boiling up in his friend's eyes. Before Natsu could answer, Happy began to cry in earnest, crawling up to curl up against the celestial mage's side. "I want Lucy."

"Me, too, little buddy," Natsu said hoarsely, twining his fingers with hers again and trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "Me, too."

* * *

 _Ah! In my excitement with BTL, I nearly forgot about SS! How dare I do such a thing! I hope you enjoyed Natsu's portion and thanks to reviewer theShipperOfManyShips and all who favorited and followed! We're back to Wendy on Monday!_


	5. Mended Healer

**. Mended Healer .**

* * *

She couldn't believe it.

How could she? She hadn't been able to heal the woman in the chair beside her, just as Porlyusica had told here. Just as the Edolas version of her mother had said, there were some things that magic couldn't heal.

But Lucy was back.

Lucy was alive and _awake_ , her eyes sparkling with life as she laughed, watching Natsu challenge Sting to an eating competition, determined to prove that he was the top dragon slayer. Her blonde hair was a mess, her expression lined with exhausted. But that was to be exhausted after all the celestial mage had been through. She wasn't exactly sure as to what Lucy had dreamt, but she knew it was bad.

Charle smiled cheerfully up at her from her arms for once, and she returned it with a happy giggle before turning to watch as Erza lost patience with Natsu and hurled him across the guildhall, demanding he calm himself.

The guild cheered when he popped back up with a huge grin on his tired face. She knew he hadn't slept well, either. None of them had. Not for the past four months.

She wasn't afraid anymore.

She wasn't afraid at _all_.

In fact, she was relieved, excited. For the future, for what it would bring. For a life full of adventure with her friends and family that would never end. No, Wendy Marvell was anything but scared.

She was ready for what would happen now that her family was complete once more.

* * *

 _And now we're onto happy things again! This is kind of the opposite of the last four chapters, so. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks to reviewer (TheShipperofManyShips) as well as favoriters and followers!_


	6. Repaired Armor

**. Repaired Armor**.

* * *

Dark eyes watched her excited nakama as she sat alone at a table, an empty plate that had once held strawberry cake in front of her. She'd abandoned her armor long ago and sat there, dressed in nothing but her white top and skirt, her scarlet hair falling into her eyes as she smiled warmly at the sight before her, enjoying the sound of excited cheers and cries of excitement as the guild partied.

Their nakama had woken.

Erza chuckled to herself as - for the umpteenth time that night - Natsu and Gray got themselves into a brawl. Lucy tried to protest from where she was sitting in the throne-like chair, and Sting stopped eating just to proclaim that they were ruining his mood.

But Erza couldn't bring herself to stop them. It was too enjoyable and only added to the festivities after so many months of grief and mourning. Even the grumpy Laxus looked like he was enjoying himself a bit, speaking with Mira about something or another.

Lucy was back, Erza thought happily. She was no longer upset, no longer grieving. She no longer worried about losing the woman she saw as family. Their entire guild was whole again, and that armor that had been fractured by all of what had happened was repaired, allowing her to feel happiness for the first time in months.

And she was certain this time, she decided as she stood, intending to go stop the brawl when she saw Cana stand, eager to get involved. She wouldn't have her heart broken anymore. Lucy was awake, and the requip mage was sure that if the way Natsu had been hovering was anything to go by, that she'd never suffer through anything quite like that again.

Erza knew it would be necessary to go out eventually. They'd have to help the celestial mage make money so that she could pay for what she needed - not that she needed to worry about rent for a while. Erza was sure that Gajeel had payed it, even if he'd said otherwise.

For now, however, all Erza could do was smile and laugh along with her nakama. Lucy had broken through the murderous curse, and she'd returned to them.

Erza didn't think she'd have to worry about losing anyone for years to come.

* * *

 _Erza's happy moment...onto Gray on Monday, and the finishing up with Natsu again! ;) Thanks to those that favorited and followed, and no reviews this time._


	7. Resurrected Ice

**. Resurrected Ice .**

* * *

Tears burned at the back of his eyes as he made his way through the guildhall, rubbing the back of his head and ignoring the commotion around him. His heart ached as if someone had torn it from his chest, but he barely felt it as he came to a halt before the warmly smiling celestial mage. She was seated in a chair, with Natsu standing behind the chair, his chin resting on her head and making his neck rest at an awkward angle. Onyx eyes burned dangerously as he glared at the man before them, just daring him to make another mistake.

 _"Yeah, well, at least she would have been of use in the fight and wouldn't have just stood there like a useless whining bitch!"_

The words echoed painfully in his head as he said with a hesitant and lopsided smile, "Hey, Lucy. Glad to see you're awake." Juvia seemed to materialize beside him, and he knew without a doubt that she was glaring daggers at Lucy.

The blonde only ignored the furious look Juvia wore and cautiously grabbed his sleeve. His eyes widened fractionally as Lucy dragged Gray into the tightest hug she could. He hesitantly returned it, the burning in his eyes increasing, his body trembling just barely. "You stop blaming yourself," she scolded in his ear. "Not your fault, okay? Good."

She pushed him back and Gray felt a smile play along his lips at the rage that radiated off of both Natsu and Juvia. He threw an arm around Juvia, hugging her gently to his side as he suddenly mocked, "The hell's your problem, ya flaming bastard?"

Gray didn't miss the eager look in Natsu's eyes as he grinned maliciously. "You say something, ice princess?"

Even after the brawl between them had ended, Gray was nearly ecstatic in his relief.

 _She'd forgiven him_. He'd hurt her so much. He was the reason Lucy had suffered for so long, the reason everyone had nearly lost their favorite celestial mage, but she'd _forgiven him_. Sure, the guilt would be there for more than likely years to come, but that was something he could deal with. The happiness his guild brought him had been resurrected, replacing the guilt and the pain and the grief.

For the first time in a while, there was no painful tug at his heart.

Instead, it was like it had swelled with love for the people around him.

And he was more than fine with that.

* * *

 _One more chapter to go and then it's the end of the Shattered Series! ;-; I'm sad...this is something I worked on for months, so it's got a special place in my heart. Thank you to reviewer (RukiaCaelin) and to those that favorited and followed! I hope you enjoyed!_


	8. Rekindled Flame

**. Rekindled Flame .**

* * *

She was his flame.

She was his happiness.

She was his damn _life_.

And here she was, curled up in his arms in a way he'd never thought possible.

His sharp ears picked up a sniffle in the room over, but neither of them moved to get up. He didn't want to and Lucy was too tired, passed out on her side in their bed, to get up and deal with their newborn daughter.

 _Haru's gonna come get us if anything's wrong,_ the dragon slayer decided, burying his face into Lucy's blonde hair.

Natsu knew Lucy had been having a hard time recently. He'd spoken with Igneel about it - he still couldn't believe that the dragon was back, simply hanging out in the area that Natsu had grown up in - and Igneel had suggested that there were still traces of the curse that had nearly killed her. The nightmares came every night lately, and Natsu suspected it was the lack of sleep reducing Lucy's strength. Not even her magic could keep such dangerous dreams from her mind when she didn't have the energy to use up.

Natsu grumbled at the thought and tightened his arms around her when she whimpered softly, shifting in her sleep. He knew better than to wake her up at the moment. She'd wake up in a flurry of violence, searing even him with the heat of her celestial magic.

So he simply curled around her, offering what comfort he could. She'd be alright, she always was. She'd just be in a dark mood when morning came.

That's how it always was with Lucy.

Lucy suddenly rolled over and she shuddered, pressing her face into his scarf-clad throat. Even after the dragon's return, he still wore Igneel's gift everywhere, and that included bed. By the way she began to wrap her arms around him, Natsu knew without a doubt that she was awake. "You okay?" he murmured in her ear.

Lucy slowly shook her head, giving a shaky sigh. "No," she whispered.

He sighed softly and drew her as close as physically possible, as if he was trying to wrap himself around her and take the nightmares straight from her mind. That was impossible of course, but he could still try...right?

He still regretted not being able to help her that day so many years before. The day that had begun a living hell for the woman in his arms. He'd screwed up thousands of times when it came to Lucy. He'd hurt her emotionally unintentionally several times, he'd managed to actually nearly singe her with his magic on a couple jobs, when he'd gotten too excited. He had troubles when it came to helping her care for their kids, even when he did try his damn hardest.

But both of them had accepted that that was simply part of him being himself. It was just...Natsu. Natsu had problems when it came to those kind of things, and no matter how hard they tried, there wasn't much they could do to try and fix it because there wasn't anything _wrong_ with it.

And Lucy had such problems, too. She couldn't move past the dreams the curse had given her. She couldn't look at him in the eyes sometimes, and when she did after those moments, her looks were terrified or suspicious, as she thought one of the Marked Ones she'd described would launch itself at her. Sometimes, if Haru or Sage - their newborn daughter - moved too quickly, she'd cry out or move away with a flinch.

It was just part of being human, and that was something Natsu had realized long ago. It was normal for them to make mistakes.

"Natsu?"

Lucy's small voice had him looking down to find her face tilted up towards his, her brown eyes shining nervously. He merely gave her his signature grin and gave her a reassuring kiss to her forehead before tucking her safely against his chest, closing his eyes.

"Don't worry, Luce, that stuff will never happen," he reassured, a fierce tone entering his voice as he buried his face in her hair. "I've got ya. Kay?"

She gave it a moment before giving a muffled, "...yeah."

"Good."

And he did. He had her. She was his to protect and his to love with all of his might, even when she was half-crazed with exhaustion and terror from her nightmares. The fire in his belly had been rekindled the second his eyes had met her's after she'd woken, and as long as he had her at his side, it'd stay lit.

Lucy suddenly spoke, her voice muffled. "Love you."

He grinned hugely, heart swelling just as much as it had the first time he'd heard her say those words.

"Love you, too, Luce."

* * *

 _I'm SO sorry this is a day late! I ended up not feeling well yesterday, so I wasn't able to finish this, or the next chapter of Paranormal_ _(which I'm working on now). And, honestly, I've rewritten Natsu's three times. I just couldn't figure out how to end this. I've been working on the Shattered Series for so long, and this...this is the end of it, and I wanted it to be perfect. In response to a you reviewers (KaUiA and MarSofTheGalaxies), it wasn't too long though it WAS longer than the other chapters of SS. And no, I did not consider any bonus chapters (lol). I think this is a good point to end the series, honestly, so this is the final installment. I don't want to push it any further, and I'm pretty happy with how it's ending here._

 _Shattered Dreams was my first serious Fairy Tail multi-chapter. I write a hell of a lot of ideas down in my notebooks, and this started out as a simple concept in that notebook. I wrote out ideas, changed them, spoke with my editor (who I apologize to, because I don't think we went through a single chapter of SS together), and then changed things as I went. My editor is the one who suggested the idea of  Shattered Reality (I think). She helped me and continues to help me a hell of a lot more than any of you could imagine. So I'm going to thank here here. And I'm also going to thank all of YOU lovelies. Because you know. Without you readers, it'd kinda suck. So THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!_

 _SO! I leave you with the final author's note in regards to the Shattered Series. Thank you all again for reading. I hope you enjoyed, and if you liked this, I'll point you in the direction of a rather large project of mine that just began, Between the Lines. Just finished writing the fifty-fourth chapter of it, and it's going to be a fun adventure, I think. There's also Paranormal, as previously mentioned. That's just a fun thing that really has no plot. _

_So..."Don't say goodbye!" :D  
_

 _~river_


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